


Regression

by bgn846



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, De-aging, Fluff, Gladio is 17, Kissing, M/M, Pining, Status Effects
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:55:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26306698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bgn846/pseuds/bgn846
Summary: Gladio gets hits with a status effect and becomes 17 again.  This would be somewhat bearable if it weren't for Prompto's terrible crush on the guy.
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia/Prompto Argentum
Comments: 5
Kudos: 41





	Regression

**Author's Note:**

> I saw some fun artwork by Thwippersnapple and got inspired. Check out their post... [ Awesome Artwork](https://thwippersnapple.tumblr.com/post/628028438912106496/doodle-plot-ideas-age-regression-gladio-same-size)
> 
> Hope you all enjoy some awkward Prompto! :)

Hands roughly shoved him, sending Prompto sailing off to the side. Landing in the dirt he covered his head instinctively to avoid getting clocked by the monster they were fighting. Gladio was already sprinting after it, yelling like a madman and swinging his great sword at the thing. Of course, it had to be Gladio that had rescued him this time. Getting up quickly he ran after his friend to try and help.

Stupid, big, loud, annoyingly handsome Gladio had saved him. One of these days he was gonna repay the favor. Taking aim with his pistol, Prompto fired off a few shots. The monster slowed somewhat allowing Ignis and Noct to attack next. This day needed to be over, he was tired and not looking forward to the teasing he’d get later for needing help. Maybe he _had_ gotten distracted, Gladio’s fighting style was hard to ignore after all. The guy was a wall of muscle and even sweaty he looked good. 

Six, he needed to clear his head; this wasn’t the way to think during the heat of battle. Running closer Prompto took another shot and hollered in glee when the monster fell over. They were finally getting the upper hand, or so he thought. Sure, the big ugly monster thing had tipped sideways; the only issue now was the plume of yellow-colored gas coming out of its mouth. 

Ignis’ voice rang through air ordering them all to take cover. He clearly didn’t like the look of the stuff either. Noct came out of nowhere and tackled him, sending them both behind a rock. Holding his breath and watching the air around them, Prompto waited for the yellowish tint to disappear. 

“Is everyone alright?” Ignis asked from somewhere nearby. 

“Good here!” Noct replied as he stood and hauled Prompto up with him. 

Emerging from their makeshift hiding spot Prompto realized they’d not heard from Gladio yet. “What about the big guy?” he asked trying not to seem too concerned. Noct knew about his crush but he didn’t really want to have that rubbed in his face at the moment. 

“Shit, you’re right,” Noct supplied nervously as he ran towards Ignis. “Any sign of Gladio?” he checked with worry. 

“No, the last I saw him he was over here.” Ignis offered as they ran around the monster. 

The weird yellow stuff had literally been his last dying breath. Prompto never wanted to see another one of those things again; it was aggressive and hard to kill. Ignis’ gasp of surprise when they’d reached the other side of the battleground made Prompto panic slightly. Running up beside him to get a better view he was left dumbstruck. 

A dude was standing there looking around like he was lost. Once he spotted Ignis he huffed out a breath and ran over. Prompto felt as though his chest might explode as he watched the guy. He looked like Gladio in a way, but there were some major differences. Height wise he’d shrunk and his clothes were baggy, plus his hair was short! What had happened?

“Iggy, thank the six, what the hell is going on?” This, Gladio look-alike, asked with an air of frustration in a voice that wasn’t the normal deep baritone Prompto was accustomed to. He was scanning the rest of their little group and when he landed on Noct his eyes lit up. “Shit, Noct’s here too. Who’s the scrawny kid?” Gladio asked with a nod directed at him. 

Prompto chose to sulk as they picked their way back to the car. It appeared Gladio had been affected by some weird-ass status effect. He had been de-aged, to the wonderful age of seventeen.

How charming, in the most terrible way possible. 

Dealing with his feelings for twenty-four-year-old Gladio was hard enough, now he had the pubescent teen version to contend with. One that kept questioning his skills since they’d never fought together before. This stupid status effect needed to be over, like yesterday. 

“So you don’t remember anything that’s happened so far?” Noct asked for the third time as they drove along to the next outpost. 

“Seriously, I just remember training like usual along with all the other stuff, like school and then boom there was that gross monster dead in front of me.”

“Huh, that’s strange.”

“Yeah, tell me about it, how do you think I feel? All of this is new and I’m so confused. I’m supposed to be twenty-four, right?”

“Yep,” Noct offered without batting an eyelash. The prince was clearly not bothered by Gladio version 2.0 or was it version 1.0, this was so messed up!

“Damn, never thought you’d be able to look me in the eye princess, it’s weird.” 

Noct laughed and leaned back in his seat. “You’ll need to be careful though, you’ve not had the real-world experience your older self has gained. Stick close and don’t do anything brash kay?”

“Me?” Gladio scoffed, “Never!”

The day was definitely terrible, it had to be cursed or something because not ten minutes later the stupid empire attacked them. Two dropships full of those irritating tin cans fell from the sky. With no other choice than to engage them, they all piled out of the car and prepared for battle. 

Teenage Gladio was freaked, it was obvious, but the second one of those things went for Noct, the shield in training sprang into action. His moves weren’t as polished, but he held his own for the most part. That is until he got overwhelmed. Training one on one was good and all but when four MT’s came stomping towards you that was a special kind of hell. 

This time Prompto was ready, he didn’t need rescuing he was going to be the one helping. However, he had to figure out how not to hit Gladio. The guy wasn’t exactly staying in the clear, that kind of fighting style had been fine-tuned since they’d all left Insomnia. 

Running faster to get closer Prompto almost had a heart attack when one of the MT’s took a swing at Gladio. Thankfully, he ducked and fell to the ground. Without thinking, Prompto rushed over and fired a shot point-blank into the enemy. It sputtered and sparked falling in a heap nearby. Hovering over Gladio’s body Prompto fired his gun at the remaining MT’s. Each shot rang out loudly as he hit his targets with deadly accuracy. Maybe Gladio wouldn’t be so unsure of his skills now! 

Jumping up in celebration when the last MT fell, Prompto turned his attentions back to Gladio. The not so big guy was staring up at him in awe. Oops, perhaps he’d overstepped his place when he’d helped out. Noct and Ignis hadn’t been that far away, they could have easily stepped in to lend a hand. 

Slipping into silence he backed away and smiled sheepishly. “Sorry didn’t mean to freak you out there, figured you could use some backup.”

Gladio was pushing himself up off the pavement, that odd look still plastered on his face. “Nice shot, where’d you learn to shoot so well?”

“Crownsguard training, same as you went through.”

“Nah, I don’t remember anyone being that accurate in the range. Seriously where’d you learn?” He asked walking closer with a raised eyebrow. “That was amazing!” 

Taken aback by the compliment Prompto suddenly felt his face heat up. Great, he was blushing in front of teenage Gladio. Someone needed to shoot him to put him out of his misery. Laughing nervously he waved him off, “its just practice I guess.”

“You’ve got skill that was impressive. Thanks for saving my butt.” Gladio offered with a wink as he sauntered past and got back into the car. 

“I’ll remind you Prompto that he is technically underage, don’t do something you’ll regret later,” Ignis added coolly as he walked past a moment later.

“You told him!” Prompto bellowed as he turned and ran after the person he thought was his friend. Noct, the tricky bastard, warped away and got back to the car without having to answer for his crimes. Grumbling at the injustice of it all Prompto slumped in his seat and scowled at the scenery going by. 

Ignis had cited the concern of getting attacked again for the choice to stay in a hotel for the night. He didn’t want to risk anything with Gladio, not at his peak performance level. Praying that Ignis would book two rooms so he could hide in one, Prompto almost yelled when Ignis arrived with one room key once they’d checked in. This day sucked so bad!

Taking a deep breath he followed his friends to the room. He could do this; the status effect would only last a couple of days at most. If they were lucky Gladio would wake up taller and less cocky tomorrow morning. Dinner went without incident; he supposed fighting all day had made them hungry. You can’t talk much when you’re shoveling food in your mouth. 

Once the dishes were cleaned and put in the drying rack of the small kitchen, Gladio began asking questions. He wanted to know everything that had happened to them. Why were the niffs around? What had happened to everyone? That wasn’t a pleasant conversation to have at any time. Ignis took the reins on that one and carefully retold the events they’d all suffered through. 

He only explained enough to give Gladio an understanding of why the enemy was out and attacking them. They didn’t want Noct to marry Luna. Ignis left out the part about Insomnia falling and everyone’s fates. Gladio didn’t ask for more specifics so Ignis didn’t technically lie, he merely omitted certain facts. There was no need to let Gladio relive that moment again that would have been cruel. 

Teenage Gladio shook his head in disbelief at the enemy being brazen enough to attack in broad daylight but didn’t comment further. Standing up he began pacing the room. “So what’s next, where are we going?”

“We’ve been en route to meet up with Lady Lunafreya.” Ignis offered.

“Cool, so we’re just waiting here till this funky effect wears off?”

“We can’t risk you getting injured, that wouldn’t be fair as you’ve not trained with us all.”

Sighing Gladio nodded but didn’t look too happy about the idea. “I guess that makes sense, I just don’t like waitin’ around for stuff to happen. We gotta get out there and show the niffs we mean business.”

“Yes, well, all in due time I’m afraid. Enjoy the break while we have it, we’ll be on the move again soon.”

Humming in acknowledgment Gladio paused when he passed the mirror above the dresser. “So older me is pretty buff huh?”

Prompto quickly looked away when Gladio began flexing and had to bite his lips to stifle a moan when Gladio took off his jacket. Dear six, his back was bare. No tattoo, no scars, nothing. Just smooth skin and muscles. Apparently even at seventeen Gladio still looked like a freaking supermodel. Unable to look any longer Prompto bolted up from where he’d been sitting at the table and jogged to the door. “I’m gonna go grab a soda or something. Berightback!” he blurted before throwing himself out into the hallway. 

Taking off like a flash Prompto ran all the way to the vending machines. He had to clear his head, this wasn’t good. Crushing on regular Gladio was bad enough, this was downright painful. Ducking his head he sighed heavily and began digging for money in his pockets. 

“Need some change sugar?” An unfamiliar voice announced, causing Prompto to whip his head up. Standing a few feet away was another hunter. The guy looked drunk and had his hand extended holding up some gil. “Come on sweet thing you can take it, I won’t ask for much in return.” 

Prompto backed away from the machine like it was on fire. This guy was super creepy and he wasn’t planning on sticking around much longer. “I’m good, thanks,” he managed.

“Don’t get all bent about it, I’m just offering you a good time.”

“I don’t think he wants any kinda time with you buddy.”

Turning around Prompto saw Gladio stalking over like he was on a mission. Despite the situation, Prompto nearly had another heart attack. Gladio was wearing a t-shirt now instead of his usual jacket. The only thing was the shirt was one his. There, dangerously stretched out over his still developing muscles was Prompto’s moogle t-shirt. 

Prompto didn’t have time to react when Gladio stood in front of him and stared down the drunken hunter. He was prepared to fight this guy. 

“I suggest you shove off buddy, he’s with me,” Gladio growled, not at all sounding as young as he was. 

“What are you gonna do about it? I saw him first.”

The thing Gladio ended up doing was breaking the guy’s nose. One minute the dude was mouthing off, and the next he was stumbling backward holding his face. He’d gotten the message this time, and shuffled off swearing about how kids didn’t respect their elders these days. There was nothing to respect, that guy was a douche. 

“You okay?” Gladio asked once it was quiet again. 

“Sure, just dandy!” he quipped shakily. “We should get back to the room.”

“Not without our soda! We had to survive that asshole, we deserve a reward.”

“Fair enough,” Prompto mused as he took out his cash. 

“So, uh, do you wanna do something later?” Gladio asked casually as he stepped closer. 

“We could play some kings knight if you want, that mi--.”

Gladio laughed and grinned, “No, I mean like hang out somewhere later, ya know when Iggy and Noct are asleep.”

“And do what?” Prompto squeaked as he was starting to grasp what Gladio really meant.

“I dunno, stuff, we can take it slow,” Gladio smirked with a devilish grin. “I’m young but I still know how to have a good time.”

This wasn’t happening; Gladio wasn’t hitting on him and suggesting they go do ‘things’ to each other in the middle of the night. That couldn’t be possible. However, everything seemed to indicate that was the younger man’s intentions. Gladio was attempting to unleash his un-honed skills of seduction on him. “I can’t!” Prompto yelped, “You’re only seventeen!”

“Aww come on, you know you want to, besides I’m really twenty-four.” 

“I can’t, I just can’t. Ignis told me I couldn’t, earlier. We can’t make Ignis angry. That would be very bad.” Prompto sputtered as he backed away and bumped into the vending machine. 

Gladio pouted but there was a twinkle to his eyes. He wasn’t upset about how this was going. The jerk was having fun. Thinking fast Prompto threw out the only idea he could think of that might save him. “Why don’t we wait until you’re older again, and then you can ask me out? That way we won’t make Ignis angry and we’ll go have some fun, uh later.”

“So you’ll go out with me?” Gladio checked seriously. “I just have to wait until I’m back to normal.” 

Nodding so fast he gave himself a head rush Prompto agreed. “Yeah for sure, just ask me first and I’m all over that like cheese on pizza.”

Gladio barked out a laugh and reached out to punch Prompto in the arm. “You got it sunshine, let’s buy these drinks and head back. I’m gonna ask you out tomorrow and you better be ready.”

Smiling at the statement Prompto got the sodas and the rest of the evening was filled with gaming and talk. Though he knew nothing would happen in the morning. Gladio would go back to normal and forget any of this ever happened. He would never ask him out and Prompto would go back to pining from a distance. 

Ignis saved the night so to speak when he announced the sleeping arrangements. Noct and Gladio would be sharing one bed and he and Ignis the other. At least he didn’t have to worry about Gladio making a move in the middle of the night. 

Sleep didn’t come easily once they’d all turned in. Prompto kept thinking about what Gladio had said. Maybe if they’d met under different circumstances things could have worked out. Gladio was Noct’s shield and he had a duty to uphold. He wasn’t about to go chasing after him. That shit didn’t happen in real life. Finally pushing the thought from his head Prompto fell into a fitful slumber.

Morning came eventually and Prompto had all but forgotten the previous night’s escapades until he opened his eyes. Flinching in shock he almost fell off the bed. There lying next to him was older Gladio, watching his every move. 

“Easy there sunshine,” he hummed slowly. 

“What –what are you doing? Where are the others?”

“They are out getting breakfast. Ignis said you didn’t sleep well last night so I figured you could use a little extra shut-eye.” 

“I can sleep fine without you watching me!”

“Sure, but maybe I wanted to be alone with you, didja ever think of that?”

Prompto couldn’t get a handle on what Gladio was thinking. Was the man teasing him or being serious? “Okay we’re alone, so now what?” he spit out helplessly.

“I was thinking we could do something later if you’re up for it.”

Letting out a breath, Prompto groaned. He didn’t want to train with Gladio later that was the worst idea ever. Figures the big guy turns back to normal and his first thought is training. “I don’t wanna train with you later okay. I’m not re—ompffff.” Prompto’s brain short-circuited. Gladio was kissing him, morning breath and all. Gladio had his hand securely in place at the base of Prompto’s head, keeping him from moving away. When the need to breathe became greater than the desire to continue kissing, Prompto tapped out and Gladio released his hold.

“I never said anything about training,” he offered with a salacious grin. “I thought I was told to ask you out once the status effect had worn off? Did I misunderstand that request?” Gladio’s teasing tone of voice and smirk wasn’t helping Prompto make sense of what was happening. 

“You remembered?!” he whispered, hardly daring to believe it. 

“Sure I remembered, sunshine,” he chuckled. “I think the next step is for you to say yes.”

“Om em gee, yes!” Laughing like an idiot Prompto leaned forward again and kissed Gladio a second time. So maybe de-aged Gladio hadn’t been such a terrible thing to endure; now he just had to figure out what they could do later!

**Author's Note:**

> Check me out on tumblr if you want. Just mostly FFXV stuff with some random dribbles. [BGN846 Blog](https://bgn846.tumblr.com/)
> 
> or Twitter [ BGN846 Twitter](https://twitter.com/BGN846?lang=en)
> 
> Please don't copy or plagiarize my work. Thanks! Disclaimer: I don’t own Final Fantasy XV or any of its contents.


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